ICYMI: Orange County thinks about banning medical marijuana shops, Mar-a-Lago gets 70 foreign workers and other things you may have missed this week

Florida Senate President Joe Negron has ordered an independent inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct against Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater. Politico Florida published a report last week that six women who worked as legislative staff and lobbyists accused Latvala of "groping them without their consent and making demeaning comments about their physical appearances." Negron ordered an independent, third-party probe into the matter after the Senate's top lawyer recused herself from the investigation, citing a past professional relationship with Latvala. Latvala has denied the allegations and says it's "interesting that these anonymous complaints have only come forward after I began my campaign for governor."

While John Morgan pushes for living wages, some employees at his companies make less than $15:

Although John Morgan has pledged to give $1 million to campaign for a statewide $15 minimum wage, the Orlando attorney appears to pay his employees less than that. Postings on job search websites show the Law Offices of Morgan & Morgan in Orlando offering $11 per hour for a customer service/call center position while another offers $12 per hour to be an office runner. "I can tell what angle you're getting at with this story, and it's bullshit," Morgan said in a phone interview with Orlando Weekly. Morgan explained that although the turnover rate at his call center is high, those who stay could make an average of $35,000 a year by earning incentives and bonuses.

Orange County considers banning medical marijuana dispensaries:

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs described the decision of choosing whether to ban medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated parts of the county as having "a gun to our head." The county commission is considering two ordinances – the first would ban medical cannabis dispensaries in the unincorporated areas of Orange County while the second allows dispensaries with added restrictions, though both permit cultivation and processing. Strict guidelines from the state Legislature only allow municipal governments to ban dispensaries outright or regulate them like any other pharmacy. "We're told we want to be in a position of honoring the voters and implementing something but doing it in a way that we feel it best protects our communities against unintended consequences," Jacobs says. "We really feel like we have a gun to our head that we better ban it."

Trump's "winter White House" will hire 70 foreign workers:

Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's oceanside resort in Palm Beach, Florida, was given permission to hire 70 foreign workers to staff the club through the federal Department of Labor's H-2B Visa Program. During his rallies last year, then-candidate Trump claimed undocumented immigrants were "stealing" jobs from Americans, but after becoming president, Trump raised the limit on H-2B visas for foreign workers from 66,000 visas per year to 81,000 for American companies.